Lid lifter



Feb. 17, 1942. L. L. SMITH 2,273,229

LID LIFTER Filed Nov. 20, 1959 Lloyd L Smz'Z/L ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LID LIFTER Lloyd L. Smith, Catasauqua, Pa.

Application November 20, 1939, Serial No. 305,360

2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for lifting the lids from boxes, cans, or the like and more particularly the lids of containers wherein the ordinary top or lid is frictionally held into engagement with the body of the container by reason of its closely fitting relation thereto, and which, for this reason, is removed with difficulty.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a device associated with a container for effectively raising the lid or cover of said container whereby the same may be readily detached therefrom.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the above described character which is simple in construction, durable in use, efficient in operation, economical in manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, appended claims and annexed drawing.

Referring to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views:

Figure l is a sectional view of a container equipped with my invention and illustrating the cover in lifted position with respect to the body.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l but illustrating the cover in closed position with respect to the body of the container.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the cover.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

In practicing my invention, as illustrated in the drawing, I provide a container, for instance a metal box 5 having a body section 6 fashioned with a circumferentially extending flange I, the latter engaging the end of a circumferential flange 8 integrally formed on the periphery of a disc 9 and coacting with said disc to constitute the cover Ill for said box.

The disc 9 is fashioned with a centrally disposed opening through which extends arivet II, the latter being fashioned with a shank I2 formed with squared ends and cylindrical intermediate sections I3 and I4 respectively. One of the ends I3 extends outwardly through the disc 9 and is seated within an opening formed in the end of an operating arm I5. The opposite end of said operating arm I5 is provided with a right-angularly disposed portion embracing the side of the cover and formed with an outwardly directed flange I6 constituting a finger piece by which said arm I5 may be rotated about said cover.

The intermediate section I4 of the rivet has sleeved thereon a washer H which serves as a spacing medium for an operating bar I8, the latter being provided, intermediate its ends with an opening I 8a of elongated configuration and in which is seated the other end I3 of the rivet whereby said bar I8 may have a rocking movement with respect to said cover. Each end of the rivet I I is provided with a head and the end section I3 engaging the bar I8 is of a sufficient length between the intermediate section I2 and the respective head to permit said rocking movement.

The upper edge or rim I9 of the body defining its mouth, is disposed within the flange 8 of the cover for engaging the end of the bar I 8 upon rotation thereof by the arm I5 as hereinafter set forth. Adjacent the flange 8, the disc 9 of the cover is provided with a pair of spaced depending wedges 20 having lower ends which are normally disposed adjacent the rim I9 of the body and said wedges are disposed in a transverse line or plane laterally with respect to the axis of the rivet II whereby one of the ends of the bar I8 will engage one of said wedges in advance of the other.

Obviously, when the cover is in closed position as illustrated in Figure 2, and the bar I8 is rotated by means of the arm I5, one end of the bar will engage one of the wedges 20 and be cammed downwardly thereby into engagement with the rim I9 whereupon continued movement of the bar will force the end thereof between the rim i9 and the lower end of the respective wedge thereby raising the cover with respect to the body as clearly illustrated in Figure 1.

It is also obvious that the invention is not confined to the herein described use therefor as it may be utilized for any purpose to which it is adaptable. It is therefore to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construction as illustrated and described, as the same is only illustrative of the principles of operation, which are capable of extended application in advance forms, and that the invention comprehends all construction within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the character described, a container body having a bottom wall and a circumferential wall, a cover having a top wall and a circumferential wall shaped to fit slidably over the circumferential wall of the body, a bar mounted transversely in the cover, an element rotatably and rockably connecting the said bar with the top wall of the cover, a tapered cam projecting inwardly from the top of the cover adjacent to and approximately parallel with the circumferential wall thereof, and an arm mounted exteriorly of the cover connected with the connecting element for swinging the bar to cause an end portion thereof to slide over the cam and engage the inner edge of the body whereby to force the cover from the body.

2. In a device of the character described, a container body having a bottom and a circumferential wall, a cover having a top and a circumferential wall shaped to fit slidably over the wall of the body, a bar disposed transversely within the cover extending over the inner edge of the body, a pair of tapered cam members projecting inwardly from the top wall of the cover in nearly diametrically opposed positions, the said cam members arranged adjacent to and approximately parallel with the circumferential wall of the cover, a stud rotatably and rockably connecting the bar with the central portion of the cover top, and a radially projecting arm attached to the stud for swinging the bar over the cam members and against the top edge of the body so as to force the cover from the body.

LLOYD L. SMITH. 

